Chapter Four

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Chapter Four

Preparing WINDRV Client

4.1

A WINDRV Client is a system image of Windows 9X that can be run wholly in ram. Chapter Three introduces how the Real DOS-Mode boot-up environment has to be configured together with the use of WDDOS.EXE for loading a WINDRV Client to run in ram. This Chapter discusses how a WINDRV Client is to be prepared, configured and stored for it to be loaded up to run in ram.

Briefly speaking, a WINDRV Client, the system image of Windows 9X , has to be prepared and configured to match with the configuration of the Real DOS-Mode boot-up environment. And it has also to be stored in a way that can be retrieved by WDDOS.EXE.

4.2

When Real DOS of Windows 9X first boots up, DOS reads MSDOS.SYS, CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT for where the system image of Windows 9X is to be found; how the Real DOS-Mode boot-up environment is to be configured; and what drivers and programmes are to be loaded up and run. DBLSPACE.INI is also read if compression driver, DBLSPACE.BIN, is to be used by Win95/98. Relevant details of these DOS configuration files have been discussed in Chapter Three.

Basically, the [Paths] section of MSDOS.SYS specifies where the system image of Windows 9X has to be found before it can be started to run in Protected-Mode. So if:

[Paths]
WinDir=C:\WINDOWS
WinBootDir=C:\WINDOWS
HostWinBootDrv=C
UninstallDir=C:\

The Windows 9X system image has to be found at the location pointed by WinDir when it is to be run. In this case, it is at C:\WINDOWS.

In a normal set-up, the system image of Windows 9X is usually installed at C:\WINDOWS and its associated applications files at C:\Program Files. So the simplest way to prepare a WINDRV Client is to copy, together with the files listed in Chapter 3.4, all these two directories and its sub-directories and files into a partition image file, or onto a normal FAT16/32 hard disk partition or a VFS partition created with WINDRV Client Configurator. How WINDRV Client Configurator can be used for creating a partition image file, a normal FAT16/32 hard disk partition or a VFS partition will be discussed later in another chapter.

With suitable configuration of WDDOS.WDC [please see Chapter 3.5.2 for details], after Real-Mode DOS is booted up, WDDOS.EXE will copy the WINDRV Client onto a ramdisk and the WINDRV Client can be started into Protected-Mode Windows.

So for the above case where a standalone computer normally boots up from a hard disk, WDDOS.EXE will create a ramdisk; assign the original hard disk drive C: another driver letter; assign the ramdisk so created drive letter C:; and copy the WINDRV Client now onto ramdisk drive C: and run WIN.COM therein.

4.3

The [Paths] section of MSDOS.SYS tells the Real-Mode DOS where to find the system image of Windows 9X . After Windows 9X is started by WIN.COM into Protected-Mode Windows, Windows 9X will look into its Registry files and other Windows configuration files, including INI files, Shortcut files, etc. for where to find the files the operating system needs.

For Windows 9X to start successfully, the entries in Windows Registry files and other Windows configuration files for specifying the location of the system image of Windows 9X have to correspond with the location specified by WinDir and WinBootDir in MSDOS.SYS.

So if WinDir and WinBootDir in MSDOS.SYS in the above case are changed to point to D:\WINDOWS, the corresponding entries pointing to C:\WINDOWS in Windows Registry files and other Windows configuration files of the WINDRV Client, the system image of Windows 9X , should also be changed to D:\WINDOWS accordingly. And WDDOS.WDC should be so configured that WDDOS.EXE will create a ramdisk drive D: and load the WINDRV Client onto this drive before starting into Protected-Mode Windows.

Such corresponding changes to Windows Registry files and other Windows configuration files of the WINDRV Client also apply to other application files that need to be accessed by Protected-Mode Windows. So if all application files are stored in \Program Files of the WINDRV Client, and the WINDRV Client is loaded onto D: drive, corresponding entries pointing to these files in Windows Registry files and other Windows configuration files of the WINDRV Client should be changed to point to D:\Program Files.

In short, for all files to be found on ramdisk drives to be accessed by Protected-Mode Windows, their corresponding entries in Windows Registry files and other Windows configuration files of the WINDRV Client should be made to point to their valid locations on the particular ramdisk drives.

WINDRV Client Configurator helps to copy these files and make the corresponding changes in Windows Registry files and other Windows configuration files of the WINDRV Client. Details of this operation will be discussed later in another chapter.

4.4

For WINDRV Client to be run all in ram, the computer should be equipped with sufficient amount of ram. In the Chapter WINDRV Quick Start 0.2.1.1, sites that provide information or products about how to trim down the size of Windows 9X are cited and re-listed as follows:

http://www.litepc.com/98lite.html

http://www.etek.chalmers.se/~e8gus/nano98

http://winimize.com

http://scp.gmxhome.de/msdos71/index.htm

Besides, one can also compose Build List Scripts that include files to be copied into WINDRV Client for use by the Build List Manager of WINDRV Client Configurator so that Windows 9X of different sizes can be built according to the specific Build List Scripts.

4.5

WINDRV Client can be stored in the following forms:

a. As a hard disk partition image file stored in \WDDIR of the first drive found with such a directory on a local hard disk
b. As a hard disk partition image file stored on a network file server to be drawn to the client computer
c. On a local hard disk FAT16/32 partition drive
d. On a local hard disk WINDRV VFS partition

All these forms of WINDRV Client can be loaded up as ramdisk drive by WDDOS.EXE. WINDRV Client found in the form of 4.5c can be run normally as on a FAT16/32 partition drive. A WINDRV Client on a WINDRV VFS partition can also be mounted up as a normal hard disk drive by WDDOS.EXE.

4.5.1

Using WINDRV Client Configurator, there are several ways to store a WINDRV Client into a hard disk partition image file as follows:

a. Under Windows 9X , given sufficient ram, one can use the Virtual Disk Manager of WINDRV Client Configurator to create a Virtual Disk Drive of suitable size and then use the Build List Manager to copy and customize a WINDRV Client onto the Virtual Disk Drive. One can then use the Image Copier to copy the Virtual Disk Drive into a hard disk partition image file.
b. If there is an empty normal disk partition drive, one can use the Build List Manager to copy and customize a WINDRV Client onto the normal disk partition drive and use the Image Copier to copy the normal disk partition drive into a hard disk partition image file.
c. One can also use the Partition Editor to create a WINDRV VFS partition and mount it up with WDDOS.EXE to serve as a normal disk partition drive and follow the procedure discussed in b. above to make a WINDRV Client into a hard disk partition image file.
d. Under WIN2000/XP, one can use the Partition Image File Creator of WINDRV Client Configurator to create a blank FAT16/32 partition image file of suitable size and use filedisk to mount it up as a normal disk drive. [filedisk is available at http://www.acc.umu.se/~bosse/] Then one can use the Build List Manager to copy and customize a WINDRV Client onto the normal disk partition drive mounted up by filedisk. Afterwards, use filedisk to unmount such drive and a partition image file containing the WINDRV Client is produced. This is so given an installation of Windows 9X is contained on a hard disk, whether fixed or removable, which is accessible under WIN2000/XP.

After the partition image file containing WINDRV Client is produced, it can be stored in the \WDDIR directory of the first drive containing such directory or on network file server in the directory where WINDRV Server is run so that it can be drawn up by WDDOS.EXE as ramdisk drive(s) for running as Protected-Mode Windows.

4.5.2

To store WINDRV Client onto a normal disk partition drive, one can prepare an empty normal disk partition drive first and use the Build List Manager to copy and customize a WINDRV Client onto that normal disk partition drive. This normal disk partition drive containing WINDRV Client can be loaded up by WDDOS.EXE upon next boot-up as ramdisk drive for running into Protected-Mode Windows or used normally as a normal Windows 9X installation.

4.5.3

To store WINDRV Client onto a WINDRV VFS partition drive, One can also use the Partition Editor to create a WINDRV VFS partition and mount it up with WDDOS.EXE to serve as a normal disk partition drive and use the Build List Manager to copy and customize a WINDRV Client onto that normal disk partition drive. This WINDRV VFS partition drive containing WINDRV Client can be loaded up by WDDOS.EXE upon next boot-up as ramdisk drive for running into Protected-Mode Windows. Or it can be mounted up by WDDOS.EXE as a normal disk partition drive and used normally as a normal Windows 9X installation.

4.6

About how to configure WDDOS.WDC for using WDDOS.EXE to mount or load up and use the WINDRV Clients in the forms of 4.5.1, 4.5.2 and 4.5.3 above, one can refer to Chapter 3.5.2.

4.7

For WINDRV Client to run stably in ram, the WINDRV Client should be installed with a Virtual Disk Drive created by the Virtual Disk Manager of WINDRV Client Configurator. The location of Windows Swap File specified in SYSTEM.INI should point to the Virtual Disk Drive so created. So if the Virtual Disk Drive so created is drive V:, the within SYSTEM.INI, under the section [386Enh] should be an entry as follows:

[386Enh]
PagingDrive=V

To install a Virtual Disk Drive, one can first run up a WINDRV Client and install WINDRV and then use the Virtual Disk Manager to do so and then change the above setting in SYSTEM.INI accordingly.

4.8

For conserving the use of ram if WINDRV Client is to run wholly in ram, one can have the following two entries under the same [386Enh] section of SYSTEM.INI as follows:

[386Enh]
CSU=1
ConservativeSwapFileUsage=1

4.9

Should the computer have more than 1 gigabytes ram, one should also rightly set the MaxPhysPage setting under [386Enh] section of SYSTEM.INI and the MaxFileCache setting under [Vcache] section of SYSTEM.INI. The maximum size of MaxPhysPage is MaxPhysPage=3C000 and the maximum size of MaxFileCache is MaxFileCache=819200. One should test which settings are best for the specific computer being used and make variations as appropriate. Usually, one can leave MaxPhysPage as 3C000 and have less MaxFileCache. If one allows 40M MaxFileCache, then MaxFileCache is equal to 40960.